Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-05-26
HAWKS AND OWLS.
SAvANTS SAY THEY ARE WORTH
$4,000 EACH PER ANNUM.

Pennsylvania Paid 100000 Bounty on
$50, 900 Hawks and Lost q, 900, 900 by
It-Hawks to Protect Plantations from
the Rice Bird.
The pathological division Of the depart
ment of agriculture has been engaged for
some time in an investigation of the effect Of
the law enacted in Pennsylvania in 1855 grant
ing a bounty of fifty cents a head on all
hawks, owls, weasels and minks killed within
the limits of the state. The law was enacted
for the alleged benefit of the farmers of Penn
sylvania, and from the time when it first went
into effect until it was repealed few weeks
ago something like 500, 900 had been paid out
under it. The investigations of the depart
ment show that this sum is but a small frac-
ton of the direct and indirect cost OF the law
Of the state.
It is found that there are about fifteen
species Of hawks and owls in the eastern
states. OF these only three varieties ever
feed upon poultry. Within the past six
weeks the department has examined the
contents Of the stomachs Of ninety birds
killed in the neighborhood Of Washington.
In that Of hawk was found portion of the
head of domestic fowl, which might have
been the offal thrown out Of some farmers
kitchen. In the stomach Of an owl portion
of a domestic pigeon was discovered. These
two were the only ones among the ninety in
which there was any Indication of a partial
ity for poultry ON the part of the hawk and
owl family. Nearly all Of the other stom-
achs examined contained from one to five
field mice, as well as great many insects
which are naturally very destructive to
crops.
SCIENTISTS ESTIMATE.
Upon this showing the department esti-
mates that each hawk and owl is worth $25
per annum to the farmers of the country.
The estimate is based upon the assumption
that every field mouse not caught will DAM
age crops to the amount of two cents year.
The scientific men of the department, who de-
light in figures, have come to the conclusion
that if every hawk and owl killed under the
Pennsylvania county law had been allowed to
live, the damage done by them would have
amounted, under a very liberal estimate, to
about 81 ,S75 while the law was in operation.
On the other side of the account book they
charge UP the 100000 paid by the state in
bounties and $50 as the value Of each bird
killed, and find that from the passage of the
act to the date Of its repeal the entire cost
was SIS, 857, $50, besides the damage done in
the way of increased production of the ver-
min, because Of the depletion in the ranks of
their natural enemies.
While the state of Pennsylvania has been
trying to get rid Of the hawks the general
government has been busy devising ways to
make them more useful. Negotiations have
been pending for some time between the chief
ornithologist of the department Of agriculture
and man who has had great deal of expe-
rience as trainer of falcons in Europe These
negotiations are for the purpose Of securing
the services of this man to train a number Of
hawks for use in the rice fields of South Caro-
lima. The planters there are clamoring for
some method of Kidding their fields Of rice
birds, which play frightful havoc with their
crops every year. 1t has been found that the
presence of living hawk in the air over the
fields of rice will cause the immediate depar>
ture of every bird in the vicinity. Guns,
drums and other implements for creating
great noise are only partly successful. A
stuffed hawk will do well enough for day or
two, but the depredators soon learn that there
is little to fear from dead enemy. 1t is there
fore proposed to try the effect of trained birds
1t is the purpose of the department to begin
with small number this year, and if the plan
proves successful to the rice bird problem, it
is likely that every rich planter in the south
will be supplied in the nearfuture with a flock
of falcons-New York Sun.